What did you do to your other vehicle today?
- Thread starter Zorba
- Start date
Ooogah-Chakah!
Which is why I had to replace the stud.
Changed the rear differential fluid on my 2019 Grand Cherokee 5.7L, planning on doing the front diff and t-case soon too. I love that the differentials have both fill and drain plugs, every vehicle should be this way. My XJs and the TJ you had to pull the diff cover, and my BMWs you had to suck out the fluid with an extractor through the fill hole. 
The V6 3.0l diesel that comes in the 2007-2019 Sprinter has no oil pressure warning system whatsoever. There have been a few engine losses due to this as there are a couple of things that can happen, resulting in the engine suddenly spewing out all it's oil in a very short time without the driver's knowledge. (The oil pressure on these engines can reach 110PSI)
A couple guys on the Sprinter forum found an oil galley plug buried behind the down pipe and hooked up a gauge. I ran a steel braided high pressure line to the fender and mounted the sender there, away from the engine heat and vibration.
For the gauge I used an Auto Meter 0-100 PSI with an adjustable alarm setting. The alarm triggers a red light on the gauge but there is also a 2 amp output on the back of the gauge that can be used to trigger a relay, buzzer or other devices. I bought some cheap halo lights and took the LED ring out of one and filed it down to fit around the 52mm gauge then painted it to match the dash lighting.
Now if my oil pressure drops below my set point I will know instantly by that bright ring of LEDs in my face. Just waiting on a smaller pod to arrive that will fit nicely beside my Scan Guage III.
A couple guys on the Sprinter forum found an oil galley plug buried behind the down pipe and hooked up a gauge. I ran a steel braided high pressure line to the fender and mounted the sender there, away from the engine heat and vibration.
For the gauge I used an Auto Meter 0-100 PSI with an adjustable alarm setting. The alarm triggers a red light on the gauge but there is also a 2 amp output on the back of the gauge that can be used to trigger a relay, buzzer or other devices. I bought some cheap halo lights and took the LED ring out of one and filed it down to fit around the 52mm gauge then painted it to match the dash lighting.
Now if my oil pressure drops below my set point I will know instantly by that bright ring of LEDs in my face. Just waiting on a smaller pod to arrive that will fit nicely beside my Scan Guage III.
Very nice job ! , too bad you had to install a warning system that even a Kia has. In my opinion , MB has been living on a pre - mid 1970's reputation and making a ton of money from people who think they bought a top shelf vehicle . My kid's bought a 2003 Sprinter and traveled to Alaska and lived in it . The I-5 diesel was great , the automatic trans absolutely sucked and was very unreliable at 132000 miles. It was brain dead that the trans used special ATF that cost $ 25.00 a quart and had to be flown to Anchorage because it wasn't in Alaska. I hope your after treatment system plays nice with you , it gets real spendy when it doesn't . But again , great job !!!
Nice install on the gauge! I'll echo what @ColoJeep said about M-Benz. Sadly all modern vehicles and especially modern diesels are becoming a nightmare to own. I love diesel trucks but wouldn't touch a modern one with a 100 foot pole. I have friends with them that have had 5 digit repairs due to just the emissions systems. That can buy a lot of gasoline, and many of the modern diesel trucks get terrible fuel economy, so between that and the expensive initial purchase price there really is no benefit over gas engines like there once was.
I've always liked my diesels and it's hard to give them up. I Presently own the Sprinter, a TDI and an old 7.3 Powerstroke. My first diesel was a 1983 F250 6.9 IDI 4 speed which I drove all over the country with a cab over camper. At that time diesel fuel was ridiculously cheap.
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I agree, I've known for a long time that MB had to make some changes in order to sell to the mass markets, and to be affordable to the entry level buyers. I really prefer diesels though and so far I have been putting up with all the emissions changes and doing everything possible to keep everything working as designed.
Diesels are no longer the efficient, money saving engines they started out as. They are now expensive toys for us enthusiasts with no real cost savings overall.
In high school I worked on a farm, and drove a 7.3 powerstroke daily. Back then (2008) it was just another old truck, but these days I'm very tempted to give the crazy prices the rust free ones demand just to hear and drive one again.
^^ truth ^^ If you did a cost per mile evaluation on total cost to own , just a tiny fraction of people could make a real financial argument.
Most new diesel pickups are bought on want and ego , Which is just fine ! , however most new truck owner want you to buy into the idea that it is the greatest thing anyone can do. Get a group of new truck owners together , and it becomes a retelling of the book "The Emperors new clothes " .
'91 'vette. Acquired car with known trans issues- all gears except park are neutral. Picked up a junkyard trans and R&R'd it this weekend and addressed other issues along the way.
Discovered the extent of electrical butchery in the trans harness. Below is the "before" photo. TJ jack puttin' in work. A replacement pigtail was installed using solder, shrink wrap, and split-loom tubing.
Other accomplishments not visible in the "after" photo.
Trans: replaced torque converter/input shaft seal, new filter & pan gasket, swapped speedo sensor between old and "new" units, flushed trans cooler and lines.
Engine: replaced rear main seal, cleaned oil pan and replaced gasket, oil filter, O2 sensor, and fuel filter. Got lucky and extracted a broken exhaust flange stud using heat, a crayon, and hammer-on stripped nut remover. Replaced some brittle split-loom with new split-loom. Finally, got the exhaust system mocked up.
Discovered the extent of electrical butchery in the trans harness. Below is the "before" photo. TJ jack puttin' in work. A replacement pigtail was installed using solder, shrink wrap, and split-loom tubing.
Other accomplishments not visible in the "after" photo.
Trans: replaced torque converter/input shaft seal, new filter & pan gasket, swapped speedo sensor between old and "new" units, flushed trans cooler and lines.
Engine: replaced rear main seal, cleaned oil pan and replaced gasket, oil filter, O2 sensor, and fuel filter. Got lucky and extracted a broken exhaust flange stud using heat, a crayon, and hammer-on stripped nut remover. Replaced some brittle split-loom with new split-loom. Finally, got the exhaust system mocked up.
I did a 'side of the road tune-up' on the DeSoto today. I had extra sets of points and condensers in the trunk but no flash light and no feeler gauge. I was close to home when the old broad stalled, so I called the better half to bring me those and have her take the pup back. What a PITA to do points on an old Auto-lite 6 cylinder dizzy when you have sausage fingers. Dark, cramped, horizontal, and crap in the way. Oh, and tiny screws, too.
Anyway, got it fired up and back home. I can tell the dwell is slightly off, so I'll deal with that later in the week. Now, where the hell is my six volt timing light?
Anyway, got it fired up and back home. I can tell the dwell is slightly off, so I'll deal with that later in the week. Now, where the hell is my six volt timing light?
Changed the rear diff and tcase fluid on the wife's 2015 Highlander. HL has about 240k on the odometer, and I cannot tell a noticeable difference in how it drives now and when it was new.
A bit more on the road side tune up on the DeSoto.
It wasn't a points issue.
So, there is a hollow woven steel ground wire attached to the coil mounting bracket. Inside of the hollow woven steel ground wire is a cloth wrapped power wire to the transmission relay. It gets its juice from the distributor side of the coil. The 77 year old cloth covering had deteriorated and grounded the relay wire to the woven steel. It took a while to trace. I cooked two condensers and two sets of points in the process.
Anywho, I ended up doing a complete tune up after opening up the woven wire enough to find a good solid cloth cover on the internal wire and make a repair. I had to ask my other half to come out to push the starter button to set the dwell, but that was the only assist I needed. It's running like a top now.
I told you that to tell you this. I added a crankcase ventilation system to the engine over the weekend. I did it for two reasons. One, I'm tired of the car marking its territory through the puke tube. And two, there are several oil leaks I cannot trace on the engine due to crud. We'll add a third reason. I'm getting more and more of my Dad's finger prints off of the car.
The military used the Chrysler flathead 6 cylinder for years and they were fitted with a PCV system. The system was offered as an option on civilian vehicles but there were few takers. There's an outfit called Vintage Power Wagons, https://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/ that sells the retrofit kit. It consists of an NOS cast iron manifold, a 3/8" steel tube, a PCV valve, and a whack of brass fittings. The guy at Vintage Power Wagon was pretty helpful and easy to talk to. Because I was doing this on a DeSoto and not a Dodge, I'd probably need to modify the tube. I did.
I couldn't locate any 3/8" steel tubing locally on a Sunday, so I bought a 10' roll of copper. Good thing, because it took three tries to get the length right and bends correct. Other than bending the tubing, it was a pretty straight forward install. I had to yank the carb and drop the exhaust pipe for access, but that was it.
The Rube Goldberg at the intake manifold.
The NOS manifold replacing the puke tube.
The stripes are from an LED flashlight with a low battery.
I couldn't check on the oil leaks after the test drive because I had to rush the car into the garage because of an oncoming storm. Lot's of hail.
It wasn't a points issue.
So, there is a hollow woven steel ground wire attached to the coil mounting bracket. Inside of the hollow woven steel ground wire is a cloth wrapped power wire to the transmission relay. It gets its juice from the distributor side of the coil. The 77 year old cloth covering had deteriorated and grounded the relay wire to the woven steel. It took a while to trace. I cooked two condensers and two sets of points in the process.
Anywho, I ended up doing a complete tune up after opening up the woven wire enough to find a good solid cloth cover on the internal wire and make a repair. I had to ask my other half to come out to push the starter button to set the dwell, but that was the only assist I needed. It's running like a top now.
I told you that to tell you this. I added a crankcase ventilation system to the engine over the weekend. I did it for two reasons. One, I'm tired of the car marking its territory through the puke tube. And two, there are several oil leaks I cannot trace on the engine due to crud. We'll add a third reason. I'm getting more and more of my Dad's finger prints off of the car.
The military used the Chrysler flathead 6 cylinder for years and they were fitted with a PCV system. The system was offered as an option on civilian vehicles but there were few takers. There's an outfit called Vintage Power Wagons, https://www.vintagepowerwagons.com/ that sells the retrofit kit. It consists of an NOS cast iron manifold, a 3/8" steel tube, a PCV valve, and a whack of brass fittings. The guy at Vintage Power Wagon was pretty helpful and easy to talk to. Because I was doing this on a DeSoto and not a Dodge, I'd probably need to modify the tube. I did.
I couldn't locate any 3/8" steel tubing locally on a Sunday, so I bought a 10' roll of copper. Good thing, because it took three tries to get the length right and bends correct. Other than bending the tubing, it was a pretty straight forward install. I had to yank the carb and drop the exhaust pipe for access, but that was it.
The Rube Goldberg at the intake manifold.
The NOS manifold replacing the puke tube.
The stripes are from an LED flashlight with a low battery.
I couldn't check on the oil leaks after the test drive because I had to rush the car into the garage because of an oncoming storm. Lot's of hail.
Decided to paint the cab roof on the motorhome which was in bad shape and dark brown which makes it hotter, the cab is our lounge when parked as the seats turn to face the other way and recline. 2 days of prep and then 2 coats of sealer, 3 coats of base coat and 3 coats of catalyzed clear coat. I parked it in the sun to cure and I can already tell the difference inside. Before, during and after.
Pulled this big SOB zf6 out of my Chevy to change the slave/throwout. You know it's meant for a dump truck when it makes the Chevy bellhousing pattern look small..
I pulled the cab. No way was i going to get squished playing around under it
I pulled the cab. No way was i going to get squished playing around under it
I've never seen a D-max that didn't have an Allison 1000 , Cool truck .
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